364 – Regression (12)

“I’m against it.”

Before the actual regression. As soon as I brought up the matter of Dok Suhui’s treatment, that was what Choi Jiwon said.

“Dok Suhui, she’s too immature. Her personality itself is way too biased.”

And true to his words, Dok Suhui is immature. At first she even betrayed me, saying she would monopolize everything, and later she’d act on her own accord, claiming she would ‘become a companion of the regressor.’ Though she had her own excuses…

“She’s disqualified as a companion.”

Unqualified as a companion for a shared regression. There’s absolutely no need to carry her along.

Is it that she lacks ability? No, that’s not it. The cheating nature of her inventory ability had already been proven long ago, and if she were to regress with me, the ways it could be utilized are truly endless. Just put all the necessary items in her inventory, and then pull out the right items to deal with each floor’s characteristics.

If I were my past self, really before the regression, if I lacked the power to solve the problems immediately before me, I might have considered Dok Suhui seriously.

“But now, I have enough power.”

For the current me, back with the status window, there’s no element that makes Dok Suhui ‘essential’ anywhere. Most of what she can do, I can do as well, and what she can’t do, I can.

Therefore, separating from Dok Suhui in a suitable way is a done deal. If I had my way, I’d just tell her let’s go our separate ways, live as strangers from now on, but…

“…The joint regression is the problem.”

The problem is, Dong Su-hui’s companion regression has already been triggered. So far, it’s just a guess, but it seems like memories from the regression only return when I enter the corresponding floor. The memories I held in the 3rd floor only come back when I go back to the 3rd floor, and the memories I held in the 4th floor only come back when I enter the 4th floor, that sort of thing.

So, if I enter the 4th floor, Choi Ji-won’s memories will return, and if I enter the 3rd floor, Dong Su-hui’s memories will return. Probably, memories of when she betrayed me and tried to monopolize all the rewards.

How will Dong Su-hui react to these unfamiliar memories? If the memory of her having already cleared the 3rd floor and backstabbing some guy at the end flows into her, what will her attitude be?

Generally, she might just think “It was just a weird dream,” but if the content of the 3rd floor is exactly the same, the credibility is different. She won’t blindly believe all the memories, but she can’t completely ignore them either.

So, if I want to distance myself from Dong Su-hui here, how should I act? What can I do to naturally and subtly get away?

I’ve thought of various methods… but I think the most effective thing is.

“I think being honest might be enough.”

I just need to show them as it is.

-You have entered the 3rd floor.

＜3rd Floor＞

-Clear condition: Choose one of the five stone doors, and clear by progressing to the end. The more strokes carved on the door, the harder the difficulty.

-Clear reward: Varies depending on the difficulty.

A damp cave. Five huge stone doors stand in a row, and on top of each of them are crudely carved strokes, from one to five respectively.

“So, I just go in here, right? The one with four strokes.”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.”

I guess we see each other often enough now that Choi Ji-won’s gotten comfortable enough to talk casually. Seeing him act like that makes me look forward to his reaction after entering the 4th floor… but let’s save that joy for later.

“Okay. I’ll go with you, mister.”

Like that, Choi Ji-won and firefighter Park Cheol-jin entered the 4-stroke difficulty door. After watching them disappear, I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the 5-stroke difficulty stone door.

[Entering the 3rd-5th floor.]

-Flash!

I opened my eyes and rose from my spot before I even realized it. Truthfully, a condition for ‘true regression’ was to suffer damage the moment of regression, so quickly regaining consciousness had become a kind of routine. Before, I’d at least be a few seconds out of it, dazed. I feel my changed self in moments like this.

“…You’re up… You’re awake.”

Kangchan, who was coming closer, noticing my presence, hesitated slightly upon seeing me standing. What did he usually say? Get up, you whelp… was it that? I’m far from being a whelp now.

“…”

Kangchan must have felt my power, too, as he stared at me with an even more hardened face than usual. In his position, trying to maintain a ‘strong image’, I was a massive variable in itself. He’s probably drowning in his thoughts right now.

“Would you mind stepping aside?”

“…”

Well, whatever. I plan to maintain a decent friendship with Kangchan later. He’s someone I can trust. I patted him on the shoulder naturally and headed towards the central space along the narrow cave path.

“Huh?”

“Ah?”

When I arrived, Ahn Kyungjun and Dok Soohee were waiting for me. Ahn Kyungjun looked purely surprised that a new person had appeared, but Dok Soohee’s eyes held something more.

Question, surprise, suspicion, worry, a storm of various emotions swirling in her pupils.

Seeing that, it’s certain. She has the memories. Look at her still mumbling with her mouth. She clearly wants to say something, but she’s agonizing over how to bring it up, the very image of a person struggling.

If I extended my hand here, she would gladly become my ally. Knowing that, I calmly walked towards the stone door blocking the way.

“It looks like this is a structure that requires four people to place their palms.”

My way to detach Dok Soohee. A way to show that we aren’t connected is to directly demonstrate that her memories are incorrect. How will I show that?

“Follow me.”

Just. Show it exactly as it is.

Floor 3. A floor where players who’ve cleared the tutorial and even Floor 2 start to ease up, letting their guard down. A floor where they might think, ‘With my stats, I can handle this…’ and develop a bit of arrogance. Which, of course, applies to the strong ones who might venture to Floors 3-5.

-Crack!

…That *should* have been the case.

“Hah.”

But if you were to see that man standing over a crushed giant wolf. See that man, not even sweating, having subdued the wolf that dropped from the ceiling.

“…”

“…”

Anyone would swallow hard—gulp.

Overwhelming. Overwhelming strength.

It’s not about natural talent, or character differences, or even differences in effort. There’s nothing anyone else did wrong, and no matter what anyone tries, there’s no way to surpass that man.

It’s simply a difference in time. The gulf between the time invested in a life of struggle is different. The difference between a man who’s lived within a crushing weight of time, and the rookies who’ve just taken their first steps is just that. A violent gap in strength, so vast that it’s impossible to see them as the same species.

-Crash!

Even the giant maze of mirrors that appeared after.

-Whap-whap-whap!!!

Even the downpour of arrows.

“Get up.”

Even the maze that required moving in pairs.

-Crackling!

Even golems that deflected every attack.

They were all no threat before that man. No, it almost seemed too effortless. As if having settled some long-standing desire, the man wore a light smile.

“Wow…”

Ahn Kyungjoon with pure admiration at that strength.

“…”

Kang Chan, concerned with the setbacks to his plans and the need to revise his future course.

“…Past life? Was that a past life I saw? Then we… this time…”

Even Dok Soohui uttering strange nonsense.

Actually, Dok Soohui’s reaction was normal. The Kim Junho she’d seen in her memories was worlds apart from the Kim Junho now. It was hard to consider them the same person, and the difference was too great to be dismissed as a precognitive dream.

Thus, the somewhat absurd conclusion of ‘past life’. She obviously hadn’t realized he was a regressor, and while she wouldn’t abandon interest altogether, she also wouldn’t obsess over him as blindly as before… probably.

“Hah.”

Anyway, Kim Junho, who had made the other three players feel like they were facing an insurmountable wall, was now…

“…Isn’t this a bit much.”

Staring intently at the corpse of the fallen golem, muttering words that made no sense.

Looking at the golem’s completely frozen body, I was able to find a small oddity. The flow of magic throughout its body had a slight distortion.

A small groove was carved near its nape. When I poked around that area with my knife, the blade smoothly cut in, exposing the golem’s core.

So… the back of its neck was its weak point? If you wanted to attack it head-on, you had to get behind it and target its nape? Against a giant golem that deflects all attacks?

“Hah…”

Finding it is one thing, but attacking it is a much bigger problem. Is this even supposed to make sense?